The Dow is hovering around the mark in midday trading. It broke through 13,000 in late morning Monday, just as it did several times last week. But it hasn't closed above 13,000 since May 2008.

The Dow is up 19 points to 13,002. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up two points to 1,368. The Nasdaq composite index has risen five points to 2,969.

The Dow had fallen as much as 100 points in morning trading.

Stocks began recovering later in the morning with a report from the National Association of Realtors showing that the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose in January to the highest level in nearly two years.